Human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, has taken Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on X (formerly Twitter).
In the suit, marked FHC/L/CS/1739/25, Ogun argued that the governor’s action—taken in 2021 after he criticised state policies and demanded accountability over the October 2020 #EndSARS shootings—was unconstitutional and discriminatory.
He contended that being blocked on the governor’s verified handle, @jidesanwoolu, denied him access to official updates on policies and governance in Lagos. “Blocking me has prevented me from receiving information that citizens are entitled to without interference,” Ogun said in a statement shared on his Facebook page.
The lawyer asked the court to compel Sanwo-Olu to unblock him, issue a public apology, and desist from targeting critics on social media. He also sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the governor and his agents from blocking him or any other citizen on any platform.
Ogun stressed that the case was not for personal interest but to advance digital rights and protect free speech.
He drew parallels with a 2019 ruling in the United States where a court held that then-President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking citizens on Twitter.
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He warned that intolerance to opposing views was a threat to democracy, accusing Nigerian authorities of consistently clamping down on dissent through arrests, surveillance, and online censorship.
“This narrative must stop,” he declared.
